The Oakland branch of the NAACP came out in support of an effort to recall Mayor Sheng Thao over concerns about crime and allegations of fiscal mismanagement, among other things.
During a news conference Monday morning, Oakland NAACP executive board members and the group’s president, Cynthia Adams, joined Brenda Harbin-Forte, former head of the group that organized to get the recall on the Nov. 5 ballot, and Carl Chan, another prominent recall supporter.
“The NAACP fervently believes that Mayor Thao poses a serious threat to the well-being of our great city,” said NAACP board member Patrice Waugh. “Her actions and inactions have clearly demonstrated her inability to govern, thus endangering the safety of Oaklanders.”
Waugh cited several instances of Thao’s perceived missteps, including the firing of former police chief LeRonne Armstrong, whom the group supported, then taking nearly a year to hire a replacement.
Also, Thao missed a deadline to receive millions in retail theft prevention grant money from the state and used the one-time sale of the city’s ownership of half of the Oakland Coliseum to balance the city’s budget without fixing the structural issues that led to the deficit in the first place.
Waugh said people no longer feel safe in Oakland, that businesses have left over worries about crime and that Thao has failed to put a halt to the city’s perceived lawlessness.
“The NAACP has a rich history of supporting voters as they engage in any democratic process,” she said. “Therefore, the executive committee of the Oakland branch of the NAACP is standing with the voters and taxpayers of Oakland in supporting the recall of Mayor Sheng Thao.”
In response, Thao’s campaign issued a statement saying the mayor is in fact at least partially responsible for a declining crime rate in Oakland.
“Thanks to Mayor Thao’s reorganization of the police department, her strong partnership with Governor (Gavin) Newsom and her implementation of data-driven strategies — Oakland has seen a 35% decrease in overall crime, an 18% increase in foot traffic in downtown Oakland, and is on track for fewer than 100 homicides for the first time since 2019,” according to campaign officials.
Thao is supported by “residents, faith leaders and businesses,” according to the statement, along with the Alameda County Democratic Party and some influential unions like SEIU Local 1021, the Northern California Carpenters Union and the National Union of Healthcare Workers, although the city’s police union has publicly called on her to resign.
So far, the campaign committee set up to fight the recall has raised close to $30,000, while Thao’s opponents — OUST — have amassed more than $580,000, according to the city’s online campaign finance disclosure forms, which show OUST with more than $480,000 in contributions from Foundational Oakland Unites.
OUST and Foundational Oakland Unites — which has so far raised $605,000 from investor Philip Dreyfuss — are both under investigation by the city’s Public Ethics Commission for potential campaign finance violations.
Thao, meanwhile, endured an FBI raid of her home that is potentially related to the well-connected Duong family, owners of the city’s recycling contractor, California Waste Solutions.
Neither she nor the Duongs have been charged with any crimes and it’s unclear exactly what the FBI was looking for.
If the recall is successful, the president of the Oakland City Council would step in as interim mayor until a special election could be held, likely in April.
The winner of that contest would serve out the remainder of Thao’s term and then would have to stand for re-election.
The NAACP fervently believes that Mayor Thao poses a serious threat to the well-being of our great city. … Her actions and inactions have clearly demonstrated her inability to govern, thus endangering the safety of Oaklanders.
NAACP board member Patrice Waugh
A possible wrinkle in that plan, however, is that the current president, Nikki Fortunato Bas, is running for a seat on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.
If she wins, the council would have to appoint another president, who would then temporarily take over for Thao.
Thao’s supporters say that in addition to the added expense of a special election, Oaklanders would be forced to endure a potentially chaotic period of multiple mayors before voters decided on her final replacement.
It’s an argument that clearly didn’t sway Oakland’s NAACP leadership or the folks backing the recall.
“In short, you lack the competency, credibility, judgment and ability to lead what was once a great American city,” Harbin-Forte, who is also running for city attorney in Oakland, said of Thao.
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